[Column] Captains in All Sorts of Manners

High School Esports has shown a lot of promise recently. Many have displayed enough to play for colleges with esports programs. There are those that also have shown great leadership on their teams. Even through struggle and demanding schedules, they find ways to persevere through these hardships. They go through constant issues with their club trying to make it the best high school team possible with always the constant idea of failure looming behind them. As in other sports, these three esports captains have stood out by utilizing different methods to get ahead.

A captain with the username “Ika_Darkhope” is the leading force in Juan Diego Catholic High School’s League of Legends team is eager to make a strong impression in his first season with HSEL. To communicate with his team he uses his school email to set up important times for his team along with constant announcements. These practices even include their own LANs. The purpose is to increase a bonding experience between players with a new member of the team being picked every week to host it at their house. He isn't expecting much stating that his team is "running off of dumb luck", but we still expect greatness from this team who shows exemplary chemistry on and off the Rift.

Another captain by the name of Brandon "Zelveron" Sandoval commands John Burroughs High School's League of Legends team from the frontlines. Discord is their main use of communication between players and captains. They also use Instagram to send out notifications to the players with useful information. Surprisingly, practices are simple due to the massive size of their club. They have a rotation of three teams in a constant battle against each other and rarely go to other teams for scrimmaging. He is constantly making his team efficient and able to handle the task given to them in the Rift.

Sedro Wolley High School has a different story with VYNEL making his team into a product of greatness. He acknowledges that the efficiency of his team can be improved but that doesn't stop this young captain from leading his team to victory. He communicates to his team mainly through Discord with a personal encounter here and there. They constantly practice as a team after school with their coach constantly giving them tips on how to improve their game. The coach is well known by the team as the school's mathematics teacher with great knowledge in the game of League of Legends.

All captains have a struggle at some point with their teams. Whether it be a struggle to set a practice time or to finally get a taste of victory that is within their grasp. These three young captains have gone through these struggles and will continue to face these and many more in the future. They are the lifeblood of their team and they will go through thick and thin to lead their team to the HSEL Finals.